Once There Was: A Philosopher's Stone
by Lion-Den
Summary: A Severus-raised Harry's first year at Hogwarts.
1. A Niffler

**I do not own any recognizable characters or the Harry Potter Series. I am not making any profit from this post. And I have no intention of ever publishing this fanfiction professionally.**

Severus was sitting in his study, sipping coffee and reading Brewers Monthly when their family owl soared in the window with the mail. He immediately recognized the one on top.

"Harry! Come in here for a minute."

"Hold on! I'm on the coda."

Severus just smiled and started sorting the other mail. A letter from a fellow potions master, a reply from Minerva, the Daily Prophet, and adverts.

"My letter from Hogwarts!" Harry exclaimed, breaking the seal and quickly reading it.

"Now that it's come, we'll go to Diagon Alley. Do you wish to stay with Remus the last month of the summer and then take the train? Or join me at the castle early?"

"Er- I'll go with you."

"Let me know if you change your mind. Now go get dressed."

"We're going to Diagon today?"

"As much as I enjoy jostling crowds, best to do things now rather than later. We'll be Apparating straight there so there's no need to wear Muggle clothes if you don't wish to."

The list was half finished already. Severus already had all the potions ingredients and equipment and Harry had a collection of telescopes. The clothes were covered as well, Severus having not parted completely with black clothing reflected in both their wardrobes. To mark the occasion, Severus bought him a cloak pin while Harry was picking his pet in the Magical Menagerie. Harry had chosen a black cat and somehow convinced Severus to buy both a baby Niffler and a fruit bat as well. They were heading to Olivander's when the Niffler launched out of the hood of Harry's cloak onto a passing woman, attempting to pluck out her hairpin. The woman calmly untangled its paws from her hair and handed it back to Harry with a smile.

"Oh! Severus!" She said, finally catching a glimpse of his guardian, who was pinching the bridge of his nose, behind him.

"Narcissa. I wasn't expecting to see anyone else here for Hogwarts shopping."

"I thought to come before all the hustle and bustle. We were just heading to Ollivander's, actually."

"That's where we were going, too." Harry piped up before Severus could make his excuses.

"Excellent. Shall we, then? Draco, come say hello."

The boys shook hands, a little shyly, and said nothing more. Upon reaching the wand shop, Harry was soon preoccupied getting measured and then going through some motions with his mother's wand. Draco opened the book he was carrying, fully immersed, and the two parents started talking, both a little stiff.

"I didn't know you had a child." Narcissa started.

"Ah. Yes, well. How's Lucius?"

"Draco tells me he's doing well, though it was over a month ago he last saw him."

"Are you…?"

"I ended things shortly after the War. He still lives in his family's castle and Draco occasionally stays there. I managed to gain ownership of Grimmauld."

"Good for you." Severus said, relaxing slightly.

"I am happy. And Draco will be a much better man, if I have anything to say about it."

"If I recall correctly, anything you were determined over had a way of going in your favor. So I'm sure he will."

"I see you're managing just as well, and with Harry Potter, no less," Narcissa commented as Ollivander seemed to be finishing with said boy, "There's no need to get paler, Severus. Your boy is in no danger from me. And I'll make certain not from my ex-husband or his crowd either. You're a good man to have done what you did."

"There wasn't any alternative in my eyes. And he's brought me no small amount of happiness."

"As has my Draco," Narcissa agreed fondly, watching Ollivander measure her son.

"Dad! He said that it might take the core some time to get used to me but since I'm related to the original owner, it might not."

"If it does give you trouble, tell me. Your mother wouldn't have wanted you to miss out on your full potential."

While Draco tested wands, Narcissa talked to Harry about how to keep Nifflers occupied, having had one when she was young herself. Severus was busy evaluating the bag of Potion ingredients the mother and son had bought.

Severus said, "Nearly everything here is in order, Narcissa. I'll send you replacements for the few that are not later tonight," just as colorful sparks shot out of the wand Draco was just given.

Not wishing to part just yet, they stopped at Fortescue's for a small treat. Narcissa pulled out a camera and instructed both boys to stand side-by-side, holding their wands. Once the photo was taken, she tapped her wand against the camera and it produced the picture. Another tap of her wand, this time against the photo, made a duplicate. She pulled out a self-inking quill and began writing on the back of both photos.

"Let's see. Sixteen July, Nineteen Ninety One. Draco with pine and dragon heartstring, twelve and three fourth inches, nice and supple. Harry with willow and unicorn hair, ten and one fourth inches, swishy."

Minerva gave Severus a hard time over the Niffler and the bat, which, she pointed out, were not on the list of accepted pets.

"You just can't resist those big doe eyes, can you?"

"Of course I can. And I do," he argued, muttering additionally, "Most of the time."

As it turned out, the cat (Madrigal) was quickly attached to Harry but yet so was the Niffler (Capriccio), and despite Severus' wishing, the two animals got along famously. Still facing the fact that a Niffler was quite plainly not on the list of accepted pets, Snape went to receive permission from Dumbledore, who granted it without hesitation. The bat (Batty Koda), to Severus' vexation, adopted the permanent perch of the professor himself. Another thing they also got permission for was Harry sleeping in his own room in the castle should he want to.

Harry was fidgeting the entirety of his last meal at the staff table for the year. The anticipation for the next day was full to bursting. He wasn't leaning towards one house or another but there were wizards he admired and family and friends he didn't want to disappoint. All those thoughts were swirling in his head and Severus paused mid bite when Harry's worries strayed to what he thought might be his dad's hopes for him. Severus had them retire early, skipping dessert.

"Harry," he sighed once they had sat down on the couch in their sitting room, "I don't care which House you are sorted into. I don't want you to be anything but happy, alright?"


	2. A Sorting

**I do not own any recognizable characters or the Harry Potter Series. I am not making any profit from this post. And I have no intention of ever publishing this fanfiction professionally.**

Harry wasn't sure to be glad or not that the next day sped by as he packed a trunk to take with him to the dormitory, halfheartedly played with Madrigal and Capriccio, and haunted his usual spot to practice, choosing a guitar from his collection of stringed instruments. It was there that Severus found him and told him that the train had arrived. Giving him the options, Harry chose to wait in the empty classroom by the Great Hall for the other first years. Harry was tapping some of the notes of an etude when they finally arrived.

"Ah, Harry. Good. All of you wait here, please." McGonagall briefly said before leaving.

The other first years shot him curious looks, others whispering after seeing his scar peaking through his messy hair. The rest were discussing houses or what the sorting entailed. One boy on Harry's left was saying something about a troll. Harry was still deciding whether or not to correct him when McGonagall returned and ushered them into the Hall. All of the teachers waved slightly at Harry or offered an encouraging gesture, garnering even more curiosity from his yearmates. Minerva placed the stool in front of the group and set the hat on it. Most of the first years seemed surprised when the Sorting Hat began to sing, while a few were starting to look a little green. Harry just smiled, and tuned out the hat. Not that he blamed a hat for being pitchy, but he had learned to listen for the applause rather than the song quite a few years ago.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," McGonagall instructed.

Harry always thought this was fascinating, so he paid attention to each one.

"Abbott, Hannah!" "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Bones, Susan!" "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Boot, Terry!" "RAVENCLAW!"

"Brocklehurst, Amanda!" "RAVENCLAW!"

"Brown, Lavender!" "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Bulstrode, Millicent!" "SLYTHERIN!"

"Corner, Michael!" "RAVENCLAW!"

"Cornfoot, Stephen!" "RAVENCLAW!"

"Crabbe, Vincent!" "SLYTHERIN!"

"Davis, Tracey!" "SLYTHERIN!"

"Entwhistle, Kevin!" The sorting hat took more time before declaring, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

The same extended decision of "HUFFLEPUFF!" For "Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"Finnigan, Seamus!" The hat took longer to decide than Harry had seen in a while, ultimately going with, "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Goldstein, Anthony!" "RAVENCLAW!"

"Goyle, Gregory!" "SLYTHERIN!"

"Granger, Hermione!" A slight delay and the girl looked disappointed over, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Greengrass, Daphne!" "SLYTHERIN!"

"Hopkins, Wayne!" Some deliberation, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Ito, Rukia!" Another pause, "RAVENCLAW!"

"Jones, Megan!" Even more time than the last, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Longbottom, Neville!" "GRYFFINDOR!"

Having been returned, the hat thought some over "MacDougal, Morag!" going with "RAVENCLAW!"

"MacMillan, Ernest!" "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Malfoy, Draco!" He heard him gulp but grinned when the hat barely touched his head before shouting, "RAVENCLAW!"

"Malone, Roger!" A slight interlude, "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Nott, Theodore!" "SLYTHERIN!"

"Parkinson, Pansy!" "SLYTHERIN!"

"Patil, Padma!" "RAVENCLAW!"

"Patil, Parvati!" A long pause, "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Perks, Sally-Anne!" "GRYFFINDOR!"

And now it was Harry's turn, the students breaking out with conversation when his name was announced. Most of the staff leaned forward, Minerva clutching the scroll a little tighter, as Harry sat and put the hat on.

"Hmm. Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, there's talent, oh my goodness, yes, quite a bright mind, no small amount of curiosity, and a desire to not disappoint, now that's interesting. So where shall I put you?"

Harry could only think of his dad's conversation with him last night.

"Good. So it'll be on merit alone, then. Digging a little deeper, let's see. Yes, I think so. RAVENCLAW!"

Taking the hat off, he glanced at Severus first, who was clapping hard and beaming with pride. Flitwick looked overjoyed and Minerva was smiling but he knew she was fond of him enough to have wished him in her own house. He laughed as he saw flashes of money being exchanged across the entire staff table as he sat next to Padma. Now he was free to observe the rest of the sorting from a new angle, no longer nervous over his own.

"Rivers, Oliver!" "RAVENCLAW!" Harry scooted over.

"Roper, Sophia!" "SLYTHERIN!"

"Smith, Georgiana!" The hat took almost as much time for her as it did for Seamus, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Spinks, Lily!" Both Harry and Snape jolted over the name and the hat's decision of, "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Thomas, Dean!" "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Turpin, Lisa!" "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Weasley, Ronald!" The sorting nearly as quick as Draco's, "GRYFFINDOR!" Harry wasn't surprised, having seen all of the other Weasley boys' sortings.

Finally, the last, "Zambini, Blaise!" "SLYTHERIN!"

Harry laughed as Dumbledore briefly gave an introduction, both at his usual peculiar behavior and the expressions of the other first years. Having familiarity with the variety of food, he quickly helped himself to his favorites. He had just popped a peppermint humbug into his mouth and looked up at his dad when a sharp, hot pain shot across his scar.

"Ouch!"

"What's wrong, Harry?" Padma asked, concerned.

"N-nothing. I'm fine."

Severus didn't miss it, however, and looked around, his dark eyes narrowed. The only thing he noticed was Quirrell looking behind his chair. The turban was a bit much, he had to admit, but Quirrell was always a bit odd. He kept an eye on Harry the rest of the meal, however, but the pain never seemed to come again. The dessert course disappeared and Dumbledore stood once again. Harry, having heard the start-of-term announcements many times, did a quick tally of the new additions to each house. Nine new Gryffindors for Minerva, Mrs. Sprout gaining ten, eleven for his own house (including himself), and his dad's house gaining nine as well. His attention was snagged by Dumbledore at the last announcement, mostly because the tone of his voice grew more serious.

"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

A few scattered laughs emerged from some tables but Harry scowled. He knew quite a few of the staff were up to something but no amount of needling resulted in any of them telling him anything, not even his dad. Speaking off, Severus caught his eye and raised an eyebrow at his expression, which was quickly less petulant.

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!"

Harry groaned, him and his dad sharing a look and both rolling their eyes. Dumbledore flicked his wand and a long gold ribbon streamed out of it, raising itself above the tables and then shaping itself into words.

"Everyone pick their favorite tune," Dumbledore gave them a moment to think, "and off we go!"

Harry surreptitiously plugged his ears, as did some others, and soon he was accosted with muffled bellows. He only unplugged his ears when Dumbledore made the ribbon disappear, catching the last words, "Off you trot."

The two prefects, Robert and Isobel, took charge of the first years, escorting them up quite a few flights of stairs before the final set, a tight spiral that ended at a door with a bronze eagle knocker. Isobel brushed her hand against its wing and it began speaking, "Why is a raven like a writing desk?"

The prefects smiled at each other and looked at the first-years, "Any ideas?"

A few shuffled, others just seemed confused. A couple looked like they had an idea but quickly dismissed it. Harry stepped forward and said both to the prefects and the knocker, "Both can make notes."

"Quite right!" The knocker replied and the door swung open.

Isobel beamed and Robert patted him on the shoulder before entering. Some of the boys jostled him jokingly before joining the group. The common room was blue, or at least the ceiling and carpet were, small yellow and white stars adorning both. Bookshelves lined every inch of wall. Blue velvet and bronze satin settees, chairs, and couches were strewn around along with birch wood tables. A small alcove directly across the room and right next to the fireplace held a marble statue of Rowena Ravenclaw.

Having let the first years take in the room, Robert began the customary speech, "As was demonstrated, you must answer a question to gain entry to the common room. If you don't know the answer, you must wait for someone else to come along until the correct answer is revealed. Now. Boys, follow me. Girls, go with Isobel."

Robert led them to a door that was chalk marked first years and they eagerly entered. The first thing they noticed was that much of the walls were windows that, at the moment, offered a spectacular view of the night sky. Their next focus was picking beds and dragging their luggage to them. The four-poster beds were made out of rosewood, like the bookshelves in the common room. Birch wood also made its appearance in the nightstand and dresser by each. Each bed had gauzy white linen curtains, the sheets were bronze flannel and the blankets were blue velvet. Harry picked one close to a window latch, hauling his truck over to it. He grinned when he saw his lute and lap harp case as well. Apparently Severus had added them to his luggage while he was waiting in that classroom. He was glad to see he wasn't the only musician in the dorm. Terry, Anthony, and Michael, too, had cases. They all congregated by Terry's bed, the one with the largest case, talking music before separating to unpack. By the end of the night, they all knew that Michael played the French horn and trumpet, Anthony played oboe, Oliver had a piano at home, Harry focused on the string section, and Terry dabbled with more than one percussion instrument. The non-musicians were included, being insisted upon to share their music tastes. Michael got excited when Stephen mentioned his favorite Weird Sisters song, pulling out his trumpet and played the bridge to it. Harry perked up when Draco said he liked classical and jazz, Vivaldi, Bach, and Mingus being his favorite artists. Harry didn't usually play in front of more than a couple people, but took a deep breath and pulled out his lute, playing Partita in C Minor. Halfway through, the boys with instruments joined in, some improvising notes and others playing different pieces of Bach. Harry continuing after the original piece finished, playing one of his own compositions. Fifteen minutes of that had Robert poking his head in, "Instruments away, gents, and lights out."

"You guys should start a group. Orchestral improvisation." Draco yawned as he tucked himself in.

Harry tossed and turned for a while before giving up. He pulled on his robe, gently picked up a sleeping Capriccio, and left the tower for his own room, Madrigal following at his heels. The next morning, Severus wasn't much surprised to hear the musical humming that Harry usually did in his dreams coming from his room. He gave Harry some time to sleep more as he got dressed. Perhaps it was that he recognized the underlying tune being hummed one room over as being Toccata and Fugue, because Severus was now in the mood for black. He found himself attached to some application of color now, however, so he chose black robes that faded to purple. Harry, never being much of a heavy sleeper, woke up as soon as Severus opened the door.

"I couldn't sleep in the dorm."

"I expected as much. I had a hard time adjusting to the new bed my first year too. Time for breakfast. I made sure to provide a uniform in your wardrobe here, just in case."

Harry smiled sheepishly, rubbing his eyes as he got up and changed. Both of them trumped down to the Great Hall, Severus parting with a joking, "See you in class, Mr. Potter."


	3. A Flying Lesson

**I do not own any recognizable characters or the Harry Potter Series. I am not making any profit from this post. And I have no intention of ever publishing this fanfiction professionally.**

He was bombarded with questions when he reached the Ravenclaw table. Most of them were asking where he went last night. Terry and Padma asked if he was in trouble already. Draco was curious, but _was _the only first year to know Harry's familial situation.

"My dad is the Potions Master. I couldn't sleep so I went back to my room."

"But you're Harry Potter. How is Snape your dad?"

"Haven't you ever heard of adoption, Brocklehurst?" Draco interjected, seeing Harry's smile becoming fixed.

"It's ok, Draco." Harry said warmly, "My mum made Severus my guardian before she died. He's been the only dad I've really known, you see."

The conversation was dropped and they focused on eating until mail came. Remus' owl Neptune delivered his congratulations at Harry making Ravenclaw and a gold galleon for what he heard was Harry's new pet.

"Your owl's name is Pip?" Harry asked Draco.

"It's short for Pippin," Draco muttered, turning red, "It's a character from a book series my mum and I read every Christmas."

"I know the series. Just, wasn't expecting to find another fan." Harry said, a genuine smile calming Draco's defensiveness.

Breakfast finished with Flitwick handing out their schedules. Harry heaved a sigh at seeing Potions as the first lesson. He had been hoping for more practice of calling people he had known since before he could walk 'Professor.' Now everyone was going to find out that Harry was a professor's kid since it was likely he was going to call Severus 'Dad' the whole time.

He was whispering this to Terry, who seemed confused.

"You're not, you know, ashamed or anything, are you?"

"No! Never! I just… Don't want the attention I know will come from it."

He came in and read the familiar message on the black board and waved goodbye as his housemates found other tables closer to the front. Snape wanted to promote one thing with the rule of "No more than one of each House at a table." Knowing how much the division of Houses contributed to the recruitment of many of the young Deatheaters over a decade ago, understanding was the goal. He kept it up when it worked, diverse friend groups forming in numbers beyond counting over the years. Harry was joined at his table by a Slytherin, Blaise, and a Gryffindor, Neville. Harry was busy reassuring Neville that Snape wasn't at all strict and Blaise was flirting with Morag, who was quite successfully giving him the cold shoulder. Morag was inching her hand towards her wand when Snape came out of the storeroom and cleared his throat. He started roll call and Harry was repeating 'present' over and over in his head as he waited for his name to be called. It would not do to blow it so soon by answering as he usually did. The moment came and the right word came out, if a little high pitched.

"Good morning, class. I am Professor Snape, the Potions Master at this school. I will be passing out a small quiz, it will not be graded, don't worry. I just wish to assess what you all know and then teach accordingly. After the written quiz, you will then brew a Cure for Boils so I can also assess your aptitude. The recipe should be on page seven of your books, and I will display my corrections of it on the board."

Snape handed each row a stack of the quiz to pass back. He sat at his desk, looking for Harry. Frowning slightly to see him in the very back, at the table that was partially concealed in shadow. Harry flew through the quiz, having practically grown up in potions class. He was the second up to hand in the quiz, the first being a bushy-haired Hufflepuff girl. Harry recognized her as the one that looked disappointed over the Hat's decision. She didn't seem so now, however, as she went hustling back to her table. Despite helping his dad brew potions since he could see over the table, he had never brewed one by himself from start to finish. Snape was now walking around the room, observing and occasionally correcting the more dangerous errors. Harry's glasses completely fogged up the second time when Severus reached his table. Harry handed them over once he could see him and Snape tapped his wand against the lenses, "Impervius!"

"Thanks, da- Professor."

Severus winked and slid over to Neville just in time, stopping him from adding the porcupine quills to a heated cauldron,"Remember to read my instructions on the board, Mr. Longbottom. And focus on your potion, Zabini, not a girl. Ms. MacDougal, don't make me extract points from your house because you hexed a fellow student."

The bell sounded fifteen minutes later and Harry thought his potion was perhaps one shade too light. Their first Transfiguration lesson was next, filled with complicated notes before they were set to attempt to turn a match into a needle. By the end of class, Draco and the bushy-haired girl, Hermione, were the only ones to make a significant change, each earning five points each. Harry only managed to achieve the tip looking like it had been brushed with silver paint. Completely discouraged at this point, Harry began to worry that none of the branches of Magic would suit him. Charms was next and Harry was convinced that if he didn't do well in this class, he was doomed. Fortunately, that was not the case. Flitwick was singing his praise by the end of it, going so far as to say, "I've not seen such perfect wrist movements since your mother, Lily!"

His spirits were raised as he made his way to Defense Against the Dark Arts. He was surprised to see Quirrell when he came in. Being acquainted with him as the Muggle Studies Professor, Harry didn't think he would be the type for this area of study. His suspicions were confirmed as he shook through the whole lecture and looked as if just talking of the creatures would cause them to appear. The next day started with History of Magic. Quite a few students nodded off during the lecture and even Harry was a little droopy-eyed, despite pencilling in small sequences of music notes between the words. All were glad to hear the bell toll. Herbology was next and Harry was excited. Besides music, gardening was his go-to activity. There were a couple times where Harry had to correct himself against calling her Mrs. Sprout. Now that most of his year mates knew that he was Snape's kid, it was more over proper etiquette than anything. The next two periods were study time, but seeing as none of the professors had assigned anything more than reading, Harry spent most of it trying to convince his dad to excuse him from flying lessons.

"Harry, you might find you like it. James was quite natural with flying. Now don't ask again and read the chapters Miner- Professor McGonagall assigned you."

Harry grumbled through the reading and all the way down to the quidditch pitch. His mood did not improve as they commanded their brooms into their hands and hovered in place repeatedly. Neville's broom going haywire and him breaking his wrist lowered Harry's opinion of the whole thing even more.

"I see Hogwarts now accepts Squibs."

"Shut up, Pansy!" One of the Gryffindor girls snapped.

"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom? Didn't think fat, little cry-babies were your type, Lavender!" Another Slytherin girl, Tracey, sneered.

"Oh, look! The buffoon dropped his Remembrall." Pansy crowed, picking something up off the grass.

"Give that here, Pansy," Harry said quietly.

"You know, I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find. Maybe… a tree?"

"Give it back!" Blaise shouted, joining in the disagreement.

Pansy smirked and kicked off the ground, flying to a nearby oak tree and hovering at the lowest branches, "Come get it, then!"

Harry mounted his broom, ignoring someone saying, "She told us not to! You'll get in trouble!" And kicked off.

He found he didn't need to think about it, he just knew what to do. He sped towards her and banked a foot away. Pansy looked shocked. Harry lunged to grab the ball and Pansy shot up in a panic. Apparently her experience was reaching its limit. She threw the Remembrall as soon as she managed to stop herself and Harry turned sharply and raced after it. He traced its arc and dove, not stopping until he caught it and quickly levelled out. Just as his feet touched the ground, he heard a bellowed, "Harry James Potter!" and froze

"Ms. Parkinson, come back down here!" Once both were standing in front of him, "Explain yourselves!"

Pansy started babbling a story, placing all the blame on Harry. Harry, on the other hand, knew his dad was a Legilimens and thought really hard about the whole scene. The rest of the first years crowded around hollering down Pansy's lies.

"Alright. I've heard enough. Ms. Parkinson, I will not tolerate bullying. Fifteen points from Slytherin. And as for you, Ha- Potter, I believe Madam Hooch told you all to stay on the ground. Noble intentions or not, five points from Ravenclaw." Snape said before swiftly departing, making sure he was out of sight before wincing.

He'd have to come up with something to make up for that. He noticed Harry wasn't at dinner and came up with an idea.


	4. A Troll

**I do not own any recognizable characters or the Harry Potter Series. I am not making any profit from this post. And I have no intention of ever publishing this fanfiction professionally.**

The next morning, Harry looked exhausted coming down to breakfast. He had gotten no sleep last night from stubbornly staying in the dorm. He knew that his dad couldn't favor him but it still stung. He refused to look up at the staff table for the majority of the meal. Mail came and their family owl, Titan, swooped onto his shoulder while a school owl dropped a letter on his plate before flying away. Harry quickly grabbed it and dabbed at the wet from the fruit before opening it. It turned out to be from Flitwick.

_Dear Harry,_

_Minerva has done nothing but gush over your natural ability since observing it from her office window yesterday. After reviewing her memory of it in a Pensieve, to her insistence, I quite agree that you are as much of a natural as James was. Ravenclaw has a full team at the moment, but I have cleared it with Dumbledore and placed you as reserve Seeker. Should Ms. Chang be unavailable to play for whatever reason, you will step in as Ravenclaw Seeker._

_Happily,_

_Mr. Fillius_

Harry stared blankly at the letter for a while until Titan nibbled at his ear impatiently. Harry set the letter down and untied the box from his leg. Opening the package revealed it to be full to the brim with candy from Honeydukes, all of his favorites. Chocolate Cauldrons, Ice Mice, Pepper Imps, Licorice Wands, Peppermint Toads, Spindle's Lick'O'Rish Spiders, and Toothflossing Stringmints. Peeking up from one of the sides was a slip of paper.

_I hated to act the Professor to my son. So here's me apologizing as a dad, the one who's proud that you stood up to bullying. Make sure you eat at least one stringmint after gorging yourself on the others. I don't want to hear of any cavities at the dentist this summer._

Harry finally looked at the staff table and smiled up at his dad, who seemed nervous. Snape raised his glass slightly, returning the smile.

"Harry! You're going to be the youngest Seeker in a century! Chang gets injured all the time!"

"What? Oh. That's not something to be happy about, Mick."

"He didn't mean it like that. But it is true that Cho is uncannily accident prone. Especially in the air," Padma added, also reading the letter from Flitwick. "I heard Isobel talking to Morag on how last year, Cho broke the record here of the most broken bones in a term."

"Can I have a Chocolate Cauldron, Harry?" Draco asked, eating it on the way to class when Harry nodded.

The weeks slipped by as the older students fell back into familiar patterns and the first-years forged new ones. Harry started to excel in Potions, Severus thinking correctly that he just needed some experience. His performance in Transfiguration improved slightly as well. Though nowhere near the level of Hermione or Draco, Harry realized his mum's wand had finally warmed up to him. DADA continued to be more a joke and History of Magic kept putting students to sleep. Herbology was still one of Harry's favorite classes, thinking it a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. He also now had some plant-inspired bars in his book of compositions. Since gaining a spot on the team, he was no longer required to attend the flying lessons, to his delight. Around Halloween, they were finally getting to spells in Charms. The day of the holiday, they were in Flitwick's classroom this time for Study and Hermione and Harry were trying to help Ron with the levitation charm they had started performing yesterday. He mispronounced the charm for the upteenth time and then started swinging his wand down at the feather in frustration.

"Stop, stop, stop! You're going to take someone's eye out. Besides, you're saying it _wrong_. It's Levi-_o_-sa. Not levio-sar. And you're not making the _gar_ long enough" Hermione snapped, losing patience.

"You do it then, if you're so clever."

Hermione primly pulled out her wand, performed the correct gesture and made the feather hover two feet above the desk with a perfectly pronounced, "Wingardium leviosa."

She hmphed and found another seat, opening a book and started reading. The bell sounded and they all went their separate ways. Harry was leaving the classroom when he heard Ron talking loudly at his friends, "It's no wonder no one can stand her. She's a nightmare, honestly." He then went on to copy her pronunciation tips in a high-pitched tone. Harry was trying to catch up with him to tell him off when someone knocked into him as they hurried by. He saw that it was Hermione and his stomach dropped when he caught a glimpse of her face, streaked with tears. Most of them made their way down to the lake, enjoying the unseasonably sunny weather. Harry went around to all the girls, asking, "Are any you close with Hermione?"

He finally got a yes from a group of girls situated under a willow tree. He recognized two from her own house, Hannah and Georgiana, one from his, Morag, a Gryffindor he recognized as the one sharing his mother's name, and two Slytherin girls, Daphne and Sophia. He quickly told them that he had seen Hermione run off somewhere, crying. They thanked him and immediately walked back to the castle, Morag stealthily muttering the Jelly Legs Curse at Ron as they passed. Harry spent the rest of the afternoon composing a couple interludes inspired by the sound of the wind, the birds skimming their wings on the surface of the water, even made a joking one over the giant squid as it lazily swam about in the shallows. He was going to skip the feast, intending to go his spot and break out his violin. Halloween never meant much celebration for him or Severus. Usually, they spent the evening visiting his parents' grave and reminiscing over some spiced cider with Remus. He let himself be carried by the crowd, though. And as such, finally got a sight of the castle in a way he had not seen. He'd never seen the Great Hall decorated for Halloween before. In an attempt to be a little festive, he pulled everything fall and Halloween-themed onto his plate.

He turned towards Morag before tucking in, "Is Hermione alright?"

Morag winced, replying, "No. That absolute," she lowered her voice for, "_Wanker_," before continuing, "She's been in the bathroom, crying, all afternoon and won't talk to any of us. Says she just wants to be left alone. Hannah and G said if she isn't in their common room when they get back from the feast, they'll go to Professor McGonagall."

"Why not Sprout?"

"Because Sprout can't nail that," she said something in Gaelic, "to the wall as much as the Head of his House can."

Before Harry could reply, Quirrell came sprinting in, his turban askew, looking terrified, "Troll - in the dungeons - thought you ought to know," he panted before passing out entirely.

Pandemonium ensued, nearly everyone standing up at once, yelling. Harry stood slowly, looking at his dad in askance. Severus wasn't looking at the students, though. He was staring at the spot where Quirrell had fallen, now obscured by many sets of legs. Making a decision, he left out the door on his right and Harry shoved through the crowd as quickly as possible to follow. Dumbledore released loud bangs from his wand until everyone was still and quiet.

"Prefects, lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"

Harry got swept away with them, only able to break off when the prefects split into distinctive groups. Draco and Terry saw him slip away and followed suit. All three of them were stopped by Georgiana, "Guys! What about Hermione? She doesn't know!"

They all looked at each other and nodded, following her to the bathroom. They were just about there when Draco yanked them behind a gargoyle. Someone was coming and Terry restrained Harry from revealing himself upon see who it was. Harry hissed at him, "That's my dad, remember?" But he was gone by the time he untangled himself.

"Why is he going to the third floor?"

"I don't know but I am going to find out." Harry muttered.

"Shh! Do you smell that?" Draco asked.

The stench hit the rest of them at once. Heavy footfalls followed and they scrambled back behind the gargoyle. The troll came into view and all of them wrinkled their noses in disgust both as the smell grew more intense and they got a sight of it. It's skin was a sickly grey and lumpy and its arms were so long that the club it was carrying was scraping against the floor. It halted at a door and seemed to listen for something. It must have heard what it wanted, for the twelve foot tall monstrosity turned and went in. Georgiana gasped in horror as it did, whispering, "Hermione's in there!"

They scrambled after it, reaching the door just as a scream echoed out. Hermione was pressed against the wall, her mouth hanging open in fear. The troll was slowly advancing towards her, breaking sinks along the way.

They started grabbing random sink rubble and chucking it at the troll, Harry yelling, "Hermione, move!"

The troll kept advancing until Terry threw a well-aimed tap against the troll's head. It roared and turned around, going after them now. They all scrambled for an idea. Draco raised his wand out of nowhere and did a complicated twist with it that turned the club the troll was raising into a squeaky toy hammer. Georgiana got the troll with a Leg-Lock Curse and it swayed and then crashed to the floor. To silence the troll now continuously roaring, Harry levitated one of the sinks that was mostly whole and dropped it on the troll's head with a sickening crack. Terry was focused on Hermione, waving his wand that was surrounded by a faint purple mist under her nose. Whatever that mist was, it calmed her down.

"Is it ... dead?"

Harry shook his head, "Just knocked out."

None of them had an opportunity to even think of leaving to escape trouble. McGonagall, Snape, and Quirrell burst in, probably having been alerted by the noise. Quirrell took one look at the fallen troll and sat on a toilet with a whimper. Snape bent over the troll and McGonagall was the one to spot the students.

"What on earth were you thinking?! You could have been killed!"

Her scolding brought Snape's attention, him turning just as pale as Quirrell upon seeing Harry, "Why aren't you in your dormitories?"

"It was my fault, Professor. They came looking for me."

"Ms. Granger? What-?"

"All of you, tell us. From the beginning," Snape intervened, McGonagall shocked and angry enough to be speechless.

Harry took a step forward, being the only apprised of the whole issue, "Someone made Hermione really upset after study hall so I told her friends."

Georgiana took over, "We found her here, crying, but she wouldn't tell us what happened."

"I told them to go away until they did." Hermione added.

"We were going to our common room when Georgiana pulled us aside and told us Hermione was still in the bathroom." Terry said.

"We only wanted to warn her but when we got here, the troll came and went in." Georgiana said.

"We started throwing sink parts at it. Terry got it in the head with a tap. When it started coming after us, Draco turned the club into that," Harry said, pointing at the toy hammer.

Terry took over, "I went to go calm Hermione down when Georgiana got it with a Leg-Lock spell and then Harry levitated that sink to knock it out."

Snape dragged his hand down his face and McGonagall recovered, "Well. In that case… Ms. Granger I will escort you back to the Gryffindor Common Room and I expect you to tell me the truth over who upset you and why. Before I go… Malfoy, five points to Ravenclaw for that transformation. I'll leave the others to you, Severus."

"What on earth possessed you all to take on a fully grown mountain troll without alerting a teacher first?"

"We would have told you but you were on the third floor." Harry challenged.

Severus opened his mouth and then just sighed. Terry and Draco shot him incredulous looks that perfectly conveyed 'don't get us into more trouble.'

"Quirrell, if you can manage to stand," Severus said with a sneer, "Please escort Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Boot, and Ms. Smith back to their common rooms. Harry, come with me."

Harry's indignation soon turned to worry when he saw his dad limping as he led him to their suite of rooms. Severus collapsed onto the nearest piece of furniture once the door clicked shut.

"Dad!" Harry rushed forward.

"Harry, be so kind as to throw some Floo powder onto the fire and fetch Madam Pomfrey." Sweat starting to bead on his upper lip and temples.

Harry did as he asked quickly as possible, grabbing way more than needed and forgetting to tuck in his elbows enough. He emerged into the hospital wing cradling his left arm, shouting for her. She emerged, irritation over the ruckus evaporating into professional urgency as Harry explained the situation. She was only halfway through the two places when she was asking, "Severus? What happened?"

"The third head on that beast got me, Poppy."

"I'll have to clean the wound before stitching it, Severus." Pomfrey informed him, having lifted his trouser leg up past the knee and examining what was revealed to be a nasty looking bite.

"Understood. Harry, go to your room for now, alright? I'll have Poppy look at your elbow when she's done."

Harry didn't argue, the color gone from his face at seeing the blood. Once Harry closed his door, Snape quickly placed a muffling charm over it and gave Poppy the go ahead. With the muffling charm, Harry heard none of the increasingly filthy expletives coming out of Severus' mouth as the healer cleaned, cauterised, and stitched the wound. She finished with wrapping it in a bandage and instructed him to not walk on it too much for a week or so. Severus nodded and immediately tried going to Harry's room, dispersing the spell.

"What did I just say? You sit, I'll get him."

Poppy knocked on the door, smiling at chalkboard sign that marked it as his, "Let's take a look at that elbow, my boy."

Harry sat on the table Poppy conjured and held out his arm. Pomfrey muttered a charm and passed her wand over it, acting as an x-ray.

"Nothing broken. Just a bone bruise. I can have that healed in a jiffy."

Another piece of magic and Harry's elbow felt really hot and then cold and then normal. She did more checking, having him bend his arm, straighten it, flex both his arm and then his hand, finishing with having him wiggle his fingers.

"Everything's in order. I'll be going now. And Severus, don't make me have to put you in an extended Leg Lock Curse to prevent you from damaging yourself more than you already have." She warned before stepping back into the green flames and disappearing.

"Alright, Harry. I can't tell you everything but you at least deserve some explanation after all this. The devil with Dumbledore's disapproval. Now. I've told you of how your parents died and how Voldemort didn't share the same fate. You know he's still out there, in some form of existence, however weak. There are some things that can make him whole again. Over the summer, Dumbledore arranged for one of those things to be guarded here, at the castle."

"The third floor corridor!"

"Yes. Now I'm not going to tell you anymore except that something on these grounds is dangerous and is likely seeking the Stone, for itself or for a master."

"But- "

"Don't push it, Harry. I've already told you more than I should have. The only reason I did is what happened tonight with the troll. You are in the most in danger over Lord Voldemort. I don't want to hear you getting into anymore trouble until this gets resolved, alright? No wandering off, no after-hour strolls. If you can't sleep in the dorm, come straight here or let me know at dinner and I'll send over a sleeping tonic."

Harry nodded, surprising Severus with a crushing hug, "You scared me, Dad. You're not safe from him either. I can't lose you."

"Oh, Harry," Severus said, returning the hug just as fiercely.


	5. A Quidditch Game

**I do not own any recognizable characters or the Harry Potter Series. I am not making any profit from this post. And I have no intention of ever publishing this fanfiction professionally.**

Harry honored his promise of becoming trouble free. He started hanging out in the library, becoming close friends with Blaise Zabini, who always seemed to be there. Draco, too, he grew particularly close to, both from facing the troll together and their love for free-style music. Georgiana was great, if a little scary, but chose to spend more time with Hermione and Terry, who were now practically joined at the hip. Harry no longer breaking the rules did not extend to his friends, the non-Ravenclaws soon finding out that there were no safeguards in place for someone of a different house entering if they answered the question correctly. Looking around the common room most nights, this was not new information to the older students. Blaise was causing both Draco and Harry to step out of their shells a little more. Harry now played in the common room at times and Draco shared his efforts of trying to trick his mom into dating. Harry illuminated those within earshot what kind of dad Severus Snape was, as well. The consensus was immeasurably kind, strict at times, and fiercely protective. Nobody listening in could doubt how much he loved Harry and Harry loved him. The Monday after Halloween, Orion Ashewood, the captain of the Quidditch team approached Harry as he left Transfiguration.

"Cho managed to pull most of the ligaments in her leg and ankle and Madam Pomfrey can only heal things so far. Pomfrey told me Cho likely won't be able to play until after Christmas. Our practices start at four thirty every other week day and noon on weekends. Do you have a broom?"

"I can see if I can borrow my friend's broom. He's got a Nimbus 99 at home."

"You can use one of the school brooms until it gets here. See you at practice, then." Orion parted with, not sounding pleased at the prospect.

"Of course you can, let me go get Pip and I'll send it out now." Draco answered that afternoon, heading straight to their dorm.

"Well, of course Ashewood isn't all that thrilled," Blaise said in response to what Harry said before, "He hasn't seen you play, you're a first year, and he had no choice in having you on his team."

"There, sent. Now for another pressing issue, you know your dad is not going to be happy if you don't go tell him."

Draco had a point, so Harry made sure to catch Severus' eye at dinner and think, "I need to talk to you," as hard as he could. Severus nodded and satisfied he had done what he needed, Harry went back to eating.

"Can you go one meal without eating the whole plate of humbugs?"

"I've only had the one!"

Severus wasn't exactly thrilled Harry would be outside that late, surrounded by other students or not. As such, the first practice, and all after that leading up to the game, had the teachers rotating in the stands. After Severus had halted the practice to lecture Orion over allowing Harry to perform such erratic flying, he was pulled off the duty roster. The other Heads of Houses were too keen to have Slyherin's winning streak broken to allow for any intervention, even a father's over-protectiveness. The steady quidditch practice wasn't the only change November brought. It grew steadily colder and by the time the match was a week away, Madam Pomfrey came to every practice of each team, bundled up in scarlet wool robes, to administer Pepperup Potion to all of the players to combat low-grade frostbite. Orion was no longer cold towards Harry and the morning of the match, the whole team was fussing over him, piling his plate with all the food they could reach, not really seeing how green-around-the-gills he was. Draco and Blaise, who hardly stuck to his own table nowadays, giving a telling off to deaf ears.

"MagDougal, kindly pay attention, you too, Ashewood, Burrow. Harry doesn't eat that heavy of a breakfast on a normal day." Severus scolded behind them.

Isobel quickly did so, standing up and elbowing both named boys down the table. She pushed the overfilled plate away and raised an eyebrow at the first years, who quickly explained his usual breakfast of fruit and scrambled eggs. Severus nodded, setting down a small bottle by his plate, "It's for nausea. Make sure he drinks it."

No one dared mention it looked like the Potions Master needed to take some too as he walked back to the High Table. Breakfast finished, Izzy pocketing the empty bottle to return later. Ashewood wasn't one for speeches so he briefly said, "Let's go, team," upon leaving breakfast, and, "Let's do our best today," before guiding the team out onto the pitch. They all shot up into the air at Madam Hooch's whistle and Harry immediately felt better, the joy of flying calming his nerves once and for all. He looked for Diggory and started tailing him, like Orion told him to.

"Diggory's good at finding the Snitch, but you're the better flyer. If you can find it before him, great. If not, I'm sure you'll make it to the Snitch before he does."

Diggory tried to lose him a few times but Ashewood was right, he was the better flyer. Diggory tried a few tricks, spiralling, speeding backwards, going straight up and then whipping back down. While the Seekers were occupied with this, Ravenclaw managed to score forty points against Hufflepuff's ten. In the stands, Severus watched the latest crazy manoeuvre and clutched Minerva's arm without thinking, again. She just smiled and patted his hand once again.

"What's this? Has Diggory seen the snitch? Ravenclaw Seeker in close pursuit! Ooh. He'll have to recover from that one."

As commentated, Cedric had swooped into a fast dive as one final attempt to shake him and overestimated his ability, not being able to even out in time. Madam Pomfrey was tending to him when Harry saw the Snitch and raced after it. He was a few feet away when his broom gave a lurch. He gripped the handle tighter, the Snitch disappearing when he looked down. Another lurch and Harry hung on with both hands and clenched his knees tighter against the broom. He tried to descend, thinking it best to be off the broom while it got checked. But it didn't respond. It started zigzagging and then jerking to the right or left trying to unseat him. Hufflepuff scored another goal as Harry's broom started rising higher, continuing to jerk and buck.

"What's he doing?" Draco demanded, watching his friend through binoculars.

"Maybe someone's jinxing his broom? Look through the stands." Blaise suggested, squinting as Harry went even higher.

Draco started sweeping through the Slytherin and then the Gryffindor box when Blaise shouted at him to hurry. Harry's broom was rolling and he was barely hanging on. Draco looked at the teacher's box and saw Snape unblinking and mouthing words, McGonagall gripping his arm with both hands. Ridiculous. He wouldn't jinx his own kid's broom. Draco kept looking just as Harry's broom gave a wild jerk and he slipped off, dangling with only one hand clutched onto the broom. Blaise saw him looking at the teacher's box and slipped through the seats, jumping down in stages through the frame. He raced around and started climbing up the other one, when he got as close to the seats as possible he pulled out his wand and started emitting loud bangs from his wand, his panic amplifying them to sound like cannons going off. While he was doing that, both the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff team had abandoned the game, all of them hovering below, ready to catch him should he fall. Draco had found the real culprit and nearly dropped the binoculars upon seeing scaredy-cat Quirrell looking the same as Snape, if talking a little faster. Deafening bangs sounded from the teacher's box and the professor next to Quirrell jumped so severely, she knocked him over. Snape continued to perform counter curses as Harry remounted and then reached into his pocket and held up the snitch. Hooch had them all land, talking to both captains while Harry apologized to Diggory.

"I'm sorry. You were focused on me and I was trying to not fall. When I was hanging, it flew by me and I didn't think I would actually be able to grab it."

"Hey, don't worry about it. I was being fussed over by Madam Pomfrey and had only just got back in the air when whatever happened finished and you were back on your broom. You caught it fair and square."

Madam Hooch seemed to come to the same conclusion, blowing her whistle and declaring, "Ravenclaw wins!"

Severus and McGonagall reached Harry just before Draco and Blaise.

"Are you alright, Harry?" McGonagall asked quickly, grabbing his broom when he nodded, "I understand this is a loan from you, Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco nodded, waiting to get blamed. His dad didn't have the best reputation when it came to the Dark Arts. He needn't have worried though, because McGonagall continued with, "I apologize in advance, then, but it won't be returned to you for some time. Flitwick will have to examine it fully. I will let you know when it can be returned to you and if not, I will inform your mother what happened with the broom. You got him, Severus? Very good." She finished, striding off.

"Are you sure you're alright, Harry? You didn't feel anything bizarre during the broom going haywire?"

"I'm fine, Dad. I didn't feel anything. Just the broom doing it's best to kill me."

Severus muttered incoherently before tapping his wand against Harry's head, "Finite incantatem!" Nothing happened and Severus could breathe again, hunching down and wrapping Harry in a suffocating hug, "No more quidditch, young man. I could have lost you."

Blaise and Draco made a show of looking everywhere but at the two of them while they had their moment. Draco came to his senses and interrupted, "Professor! I know who it was!"

"What?" Snape said sharply, loosening his grip and looking up.

"I thought it was Pansy at first, to get back at Harry, and then I thought it was a Gryffindor but nobody was doing anything suspicious so I looked at the teacher's box. I saw you not blinking and saying a bunch of things but you wouldn't jinx Harry so I kept looking."

"And you found the culprit. Very well. Mr. Zabini, I'm assuming you were responsible for the disturbance below the stands?"

"Er - Yes, sir."

"Ten points to Slytherin for quick thinking. Now if you would please go back to your dormitory. Draco, come with me," Severus ordered, wheeling Harry around and marching him forward. Only pausing to raise a shield charm around them, Harry and Draco scrambled to keep up with him all the way to the seventh floor. He halted in front of a statue of a gargoyle and said, "Pixie puff."

It seemed to be a password for the statue leapt aside to reveal a moving spiral staircase. Snape beckoned then forward and followed them onto the steps. He waved them away from the door it led up to and opened it without knocking. The two boys followed him into a large circular room with a lot of portraits and odd silver instruments swivelling from the ceiling and slowly moving on the tables. They noticed Dumbledore sitting at a large, claw-footed, mahogany desk and blanched.

"I was anticipating you coming to talk, Severus." Dumbledore said.

This seemed to set Snape off, "That's all you can say?! I told you there was danger here at the castle weeks ago! I told you bringing the Philosopher's Stone here would attract nothing but trouble! My son almost just died! And that's what you choose to say to me?!"

Draco low-key agreed with Severus while Harry was staring at his dad, slightly slack-jawed. He had never seen him so angry. Even when he accidentally melted nearly all the cauldrons in the workshop.

"I'm assuming you didn't bring the boys here just to yell at me?"

Severus still looked livid but turned to Draco and said calmly, "Tell the headmaster what you told me."

"It was my broom that I loaned Harry, so I knew that it didn't come defective so I thought somebody must be tampering with it. I looked at the Slytherin stand because… er - Harry doesn't get along with some of them. Then I looked at the Gryffindor stand because Wood, er - . Nobody looked to be doing anything that looked like spellwork so I started looking at the teacher's box. I saw Professor Snape first but I knew it wasn't going to be him so I kept looking. And I saw who was really jinxing the broom before Blai- Somebody let off the bangs and Professor Burbage jumped super hard and knocked him over."

"And who did you see?" Dumbledore prompted, looking over his long fingers at Draco.

"Professor Quirrell, sir. He wasn't blinking and was talking really fast just like I saw Professor Snape doing."

"Quirrell. Are you quite sure, Malfoy?" A slight underlying emphasis was placed on his last name and Draco looked down, a defeated look on his face.

"He would have no reason to lie, Dumbledore," Snape said coldly, placing a hand on Draco's shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"Yes. Very well, then. He's more than likely fled by now but I'll contact the Ministry, have them send Aurors. We'll have to reconfigure the defenses, Severus."

"I would suggest asking the Aurors to stay after they conduct their search. If who we think is behind all this, they won't stop until they get what they want."

"We'll discuss this later," Dumbledore replied, pointedly looking at the two first-years.

"I'll make sure we do. Come along, boys." Severus said brusquely, ushering them out and then leading them to his and Harry's suite of rooms instead of Ravenclaw Tower.

"You never told me you live on the fourth floor!"

"Mr. Malfoy, there are more pressing issues at the moment. I will have your things brought here. No offense to Ravenclaw House but your common room and dormitories are not the most secure against intruders. Quirrell or anyone else would be one question away from your beds there." Severus said, pacing slightly.

"What about Blaise? He knows who did it too."

"The Slytherin dormitories are password protected and I'll inform the prefects to change it more frequently from now on." Snape replied, throwing a pinch of Floo powder on the fire, "Dumbledore, please briefly open my chimney to the full Floo network."

"I must inquire as to why."

"I need to contact Narcissa Mal- " Snape got interrupted by Draco.

"She went back to Black."

"Yes, quite. I need to contact Narcissa Black and inform her of the danger to her son and the new arrangements for his safety."

"Is that wise?"

"Yes, it damn well is! I didn't think you would be unfamiliar with the concept of giving someone the benefit of the doubt or giving them a second chance."

They heard Dumbledore sigh and then say, "Very well, Severus. It'll be open for an hour."

Before Severus added more powder to reach the fireplace at Grimmauld Place, he pulled a rope by the door and a house elf appeared with a crack.

"Please pack Mr. Malfoy's things in the first year Ravenclaw dormitory and bring them here. And Harry's as well." The professor instructed before turning to Draco, "Your mother does have her chimney registered in the Floo Network, right?"

"Yeah. We use it to visit my aunt and uncle every Easter." This garnered a severe look from Severus and Draco clarified, "Aunt Andromeda and Uncle Ted."

He nodded, threw more powder into the flames, and left.

"Why'd Dad look funny over you mentioning your aunt and uncle?"

"I have two sets. My Aunt Andy married my Uncle Ted, a Muggle-born which was anathema, and was burned off the family portrait. My mom married my dad, of course, a proper match. And their sister Bellatrix made the family even prouder, married a son from a fellow Sacred Twenty-Eight, _and_ joined the Dark Wizard bent on blood purification and Muggle suppression."

"One of your Aunts is a Deatheater?"

Before Draco could reply, Narcissa did, having come back with Severus at once, "Yes, Harry. Her and her husband are where they belong, unable to do more harm and reliving the pain they caused countless others."

"I didn't mean…"

"It's alright. I blame my family. I'm just glad I saw reason and am working on forging a new chapter for the House of Black. Now, as to why I came." Narcissa changed the topic, enveloping Draco in an embrace, kissing the top of his head. This went on for sometime, Draco's muffled protests escaping out as the house elves returned with both the boys' trunks and Harry's instruments. Narcissa receded but didn't completely let go.

"Harry's the one that almost just died, Mum."


	6. Explanations

**I do not own any recognizable characters or the Harry Potter Series. I am not making any profit from this post. And I have no intention of ever publishing this fanfiction professionally.**

"I was just informed that my son is now likely a target of the Dark Lord and that he failed to mention to me a _month_ ago that he fought a troll that Severus tells me this agent of Voldemort has an affinity for."

"Narcissa!" Severus protested.

"Enough, Severus. They are young, yes. But many of our mistakes as youth came from adults watering down the severity of the situation or leaving us in the dark entirely. I will not have that being repeated on my conscience."

"Well, yes, alright. Boys, sit down. From the beginning then. Did Harry tell you anything?"

Draco frowned and shook his head, glaring slightly at his friend.

"Good. I asked him not to. Twelve years ago, Lord Voldemort targeted Harry's parents over something that I will not tell you," Narcissa raised an eyebrow, "At least until you're older. I've been honest with Harry so I'll be honest with you. I made a hasty decision to join the Death Eaters when I was seventeen. I didn't befriend the right people at school, you see, and made many stupid decisions myself. Barring one. Harry's mother, Lily. We remained friends during the war, though didn't keep in touch for obvious reasons. I defected to the other side when I learned that he had marked the Potters for death. I told Dumbledore and he sent them into hiding. They were betrayed and Voldemort found them. I… was not a good man. I only cared for Lily, I made him swear that he wouldn't harm her. Now, I wish I could change it, to have… Never mind." Severus paused, his face being lines of regret and guilt, Harry nodded and smiled sadly up at him, "But that night, she wouldn't step aside. The act of such a sacrifice placed an olde Magic onto Harry. When Voldemort performed the Killing Curse at him, the spell backfired. Thus, his powers were stripped away, his body destroyed. But he survived, somehow. And he's out there now, to weakened to continue his 'noble purpose.' There are some things that exist in our world that could restore him back to full power. This summer, one of those things, the Philosopher's Stone, became vulnerable, so Dumbledore had Hagrid bring it here. Now, I have been suspicious that somehow, Voldemort managed to slither onto the grounds. Your scar hurting, Harry, during the start-of-term banquet, was no anomaly. I'm not sure the extent of it, or how much it has to do with him, but I found it no coincidence. During the last month of summer, some of the staff, myself included, contributed complicated defenses to further protect it. Quirinus was one of them, providing a troll. When Halloween came, I thought it quite odd that another of his supposed speciality made its way onto the grounds. Thinking the Stone in danger, I went straight to the third floor. I saw someone vanish around the corner when I made my presence known at the door leading to its hiding spot. I was a bit suspicious that Quirrell was one of the teachers to be so close when we found the troll, but it wasn't enough to have me suspect him outright just yet. After all, his goal could have been the same as mine, insuring the safety of the Stone. Now, given what just happened, I suspect that Quirinus stumbled across Voldemort this summer as well. He did mention going to Albania, where it's rumoured Lord Voldemort has been all these years."

Narcissa took over, "Voldemort will not give up his pursuit of the Stone. As long as it exists and remains here, he will stay. Severus and I will talk with the Headmaster. I will add my own obstacle to the Stone and assist the others in theirs. Severus has made these rooms quite protected. And I will establish further protection onto Grimmauld, where we all be staying for the Holidays. I'll invite Alanna and her son as well. I believe she's in between husbands right now, the poor dear."

They both left the boys to unpack, heading to the Headmaster's office. Harry and Draco looked at each, the flood of information leaving them a little dazed. They were both wavering over their luggage when Harry snagged on something less heavy.

"Who's Alanna and why'd your mum mention her being in between husbands?"

"Oh. That's Blaise's mother. She's had five husbands, so far. They've all died and left her a widow. Shame that Odell's dead. I liked him."

"Does she, you know?"

"No. But you're not the only one to think that. The Daily Prophet has dubbed her Mrs. Obituary."

"That's horrible!"

"Her first husband, Jasper, is Blaise's biological dad. He died when Blaise was almost two. Alanna has the Curse of Atalanta. The next four husbands thought they could break it and Alanna loves too easily, according to mum, so she says yes every time and the result is always the same." Draco winced, "That didn't come out right. Alanna is really sweet and she mourns each death immensely. I can't blame her for not wanting to be lonely. Wish my mum would take a leaf out of her book, minus the curse."

"Curse of Atalanta? Oh! Merlin, that's rough. I know what you mean. I've made a few attempts myself to get my dad with someone, too. Must be hard on Blaise. Losing dad after dad."

"Sometimes. No wonder he's been somewhat reserved lately, if Odell died. He was sad over Alvis, the third. He was too young to really remember the second, Fernando. And the fourth, Loren, was really slimy when Alanna wasn't looking. I honestly don't think it was the curse that did him in. He had a talent for pissing off the wrong people."

They dropped the subject and Harry was watching Draco unpack when the two adults returned. Severus and Harry left them to say their goodbyes, sorting out the bed situation in Harry's room. Severus conjured a cot at first and Harry gave him a look. Smirking at his son, he changed it to a thinner version of Harry's. Harry looked at the yellows and oranges of his own bedding reflected on the new one and pulled his own wand out, quickly changing it to a blended print of royal blue and cornflower.

"I wasn't aware Flitwick taught the first years color change charms." Severus drawled, raising an eyebrow.

"The git read ahead," Draco said without thinking as he came back in, he seemed to remember who was in the room as well, "That is… I didn't really mean he's a git, Professor Snape, sir."

"Draco." Severus admonished, "I think we're past such formalities. You may call me Severus. Except for in class."

"Yes, sir. Severus."

Severus left once again to inform the prefects of the added security measure and to fetch dinner from the kitchens. Though they were supposed to be unpacking, he returned to their room a mess of feathers from a pillow fight. Blaise was at his elbow, along with his own trunk.

"Scourgify," Snape said, his wand making the mess vanish instantly, "Really, boys. I hope you'll all act your age. I decided not to take any chances. I'll have to shrink your bed, Harry, and it'll be a tight squeeze but hopefully it won't be for too long."

By the time they all went to bed, many things were achieved. They had eaten. Blaise and Draco got more comfortable calling their professor by his first name upon seeing him joke and tease Harry and themselves. Severus halted yet another pillow fight from breaking out as they all fought over who got what bed. He put his foot down, Harry retained his own in the middle, Draco the blue one, and Blaise took the one by the window, Harry changing the color scheme to dark reds. They meekly unpacked under Snape's watchful eye, and one by one, were sent to the bathroom to change. There was only a couple of weeks left of the term, and the Professors had enough experience teaching to know that their students' attention was wandering at the best, completely non-existent at worst. They let their classes be mostly review and further practice. Dumbledore himself, temporarily took over their DADA classes. As such, the boys had practically no homework and their afternoons and evenings were free. They were in the library as usual two days before the break and were surprised to see Hagrid.

"Nice ter see ya, Harry." Hagrid greeted, looking curiously at Draco, whose face was covered by a large tome, and Blaise, who just happened to wink at a fourth year one aisle over at that exact moment.

Harry shook his head, grabbing the book from Draco and jabbing Blaise in the side.

"Hagrid, this is Draco and Blaise. Guys, this is Hagrid."

"You're the groundskeeper, right? I like your house and garden. Reminds me of one of my favorite books." Draco said, smiling way up at him.

"Er, righ'. Thanks."

Blaise smiled at him too, "Is it true that there are Bowtruckles in the Dark Forest?"

"If there are or no,' yer not supposed t' be in there."

"Right. Yeah," Blaise muttered, looking down.

Draco slipped Harry a piece of parchment. Odell kept Bowtruckles. He was supposed to give one to Blaise this summer.

"We wouldn't go in the Forest, Hagrid. We'd just like to see one and you're good with creatures, so we thought you would be the best person to show us."

"Ya always think ter much o' me, Harry. I'll see what I can do. Bu' later." Hagrid gushed, sidling away quite oddly.

"Is it just me or was he hiding something behind his back?" Draco muttered, sliding his book back.

Harry got up and went into the section Hagrid had just came out of and groaned. He came back with an armful of books.

"_Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland_. _From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper's Guide_. Why would he be looking at these?"

"Hagrid has wanted a dragon forever. I hope this means he hasn't got one."

"Considering dragons have been illegal here since 1709."

Severus came in at the tail end of the conversation, only hearing the very last.

"You've got two years before Care of Magical Creatures, boys. Why the sudden curiosity?"

"Hagrid was looking at them, not us."

"We think he might have gotten one, Dad." Harry said unnecessarily, Severus looking like he had already reached that conclusion as well.

"He's always had a knack for finding the most dangerous creatures at the most inopportune times. I will investigate and then inform Dumbledore should our suspicions prove correct." Snape said, holding a long look at each of them, "None of you will do anything about it, understood?"

"How much trouble could we get into in a day, sir?" Blaise asked too innocently.

"I've raised Harry and have more than heard my share of horror stories from both your mothers in the last few days. And the answer is too much than is good for you. Now hop to it! Back to the rooms."

Severus assigned a house elf to watch them the whole evening and all the next day. Hagrid had indeed managed to procure a dragon egg and hatch it. It came as no surprise to be one of the nastiest breeds in existence, a Norwegian Ridgeback. Dumbledore arranged its relocation quite quickly, the dragon tamers coming Saturday. They were in Grimmauld place far before that afternoon pick up. Harry felt bad over it, knowing Hagrid would likely blame them. Draco scoffed when he mentioned it.

"Harry, he lives in a _wooden_ house. I'm sure he might be miffed but surely he'll come to at least understand when he won't have to sleep in the open the whole winter because a baby dragon burned his hut down. Now cheer up, its officially Christmas time!"


	7. The Black Family Portrait

**I do not own any recognizable characters or the Harry Potter Series. I am not making any profit from this post. And I have no intention of ever publishing this fanfiction professionally. **

The boys had plenty to do. They spent the days exploring the castle, Draco acting as the guide. The drawing room closest to the main entrance stood out the most to Harry. Narcissa had attempted to cover up the Black family tapestry but told them that between the Permanent Sticking Charm and other spell she couldn't identify that destroyed any wallpaper or paint put over it, it was there to stay. Harry got a present idea from that and spent the early hours of every morning trying something. Harry had a special ability, you see. He could channel magic through his playing, when he concentrated enough. And it had proved to have funny effects on existing spells and enchantments. Each night was a different instrument. The guitar just caused the names to blacken as well of those burned off the tree. The lute switched it to be newest to oldest order, the harp rearranged them by gender. His attempts were halted as they all went to Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade for Christmas shopping and put up the decorations. It was Christmas Eve when Harry finally got the result he wanted after using every instrument he owned and ones he had to borrow from his teacher. It was the violin that did it. The violin was his melancholy instrument. He put Snape's guilt of his run with the Dark Arts, the pain of his parents' passing from a wizard with blood-purity ideals. In went Narcissa's sad expression at talking about her sisters, her determination over seeing her son be a better man. The thing that made the portrait make a popping sound was Harry's last stanza. He thought only of all the times he saw Draco put his head down when professors unknowingly or cruelly put emphasis on his last name. All the times he wasn't given the benefit of the doubt. The letters he got from his dad full of his disappointment. He opened his eyes after the last draw of his bow across the strings and breathed a sigh of relief. The portrait was now mostly empty. The family's crest remained the same, though the motto seemed to have changed. It now read Pur Cœur. The first name was Eduardus Limette Black, followed by Phineas Black. Cedrella Black now showed being married to a Weasley. Iola Black as well gained a spousal connection. Down further was Marius Black and Alphard Black. Andromeda was next, her marriage now showing as well, and a wholly new addition of their daughter. Narcissa was almost the opposite, her maiden name returned and her marriage to Lucius erased, and Draco's surname was missing. To the left was Sirius Black, which made Harry suck in a breath at seeing. His brother, Regulus, remained as well. From Harry's understanding, those that were of sound enough character to remain, had. Sirius and Regulus' presence on the new portrait raised questions for another day. Harry slumped up to bed and passed out as soon as his head hit the pillow. Christmas morning came and for the first time in his life, Harry was hard to awaken. Impossible, actually. Severus, having known what Harry was trying to achieve, told the other young people to let him sleep. Harry woke around noon and started guiltily upon seeing the time. He didn't bother getting dressed, just pulled on a robe and sprinted downstairs.

"Finally! _Now _can we open presents?" Draco drawled, thoroughly annoyed at being kept waiting.

Being the most impatient, Draco went first. His mum gave him a tool of some kind that he seemed to appreciate but left Blaise and Harry confused. His cousin, Tonks, gave him a Appleby Arrow hat and scarf, which Draco immediately put on. His aunt and uncle gave him a new set of dress robes, a shade of blue matching the Ravenclaw color with a subtle threading of wings along the shoulders. His dad's gift was next and the happy smiles turned a mixture of sad and terse. Mr. Malfoy has sent a cheap metal cloak pin of a dragon with a small note that Draco wouldn't share. Harry read most of it over his shoulder before Draco crumpled it up and shoved it in a pocket.

On this Christmas,

You're gift would be real had you not disappointed me over your actions at Hogwarts,

Lucius Malfoy

Severus, to Draco's surprise, also gave him a gift, a set of personally made potion vials with a note attached to their purpose. Harry gave him a custom-made letter opener that resembled a dagger from the Tolkien books. Blaise went the literary rote too, gifting leather bound books of a new series.

"An adult's turn now!" Tonks insisted, pointing at Severus.

Draco and Blaise hadn't thought to get something from him, so they hadn't gotten him anything. Something, they assured Severus, would be remedied soon. Narcissa gifted him a green velvet brocade wizard hat, Andromeda and Ted a travelling cloak to match. Tonks, too, hadn't gotten him a gift but he waved it off. Minerva has sent a small collection of blown glass, crystal, and filigree silver stirring sticks. Harry's gift was a roll of sheet music and a record, to be played later.

Harry was now the impatient one, insisting Narcissa be next. Since he did, she wanted to open his first, then. He cryptically said it wasn't in this room and to open the others first. Draco gave her an opal jewelry set which Capriccio tried sneaking to before Harry saw him out of the corner of his eye and put him in his pocket with the dragon pin Draco pushed towards him. Her sister gave her a painting of their old summer home which made Narcissa give her a watery smile. Ted gave her a new, glossy Muggle book and told her it was the first in the series. Tonks' present was living, producing both a baby Demiguise and a newly hatched Augurey.

"The demiguise might do for Draco, since he seems to be proving a troublemaker. But the little guy can't turn invisible yet."

Tonks and Draco started bickering while Narcissa opened Severus' gift. Apparently quite fond of birds, his, too was living. Two chicks emerged from the breathable box. The first one, earning a smile, was a Golden Snidget.

"Oh, Severus. You shouldn't have." She gasped at the second, the smoke rising from its nostrils unmistakable.

Harry was wondering the value of his gift compared to a Phoenix. Severus looked at him briefly and shook his head.

"Dumbledore knew someone that couldn't keep him anymore. He'll be well cared for here."

Narcissa seemed less uneasy now that she knew he hadn't just spent a fortune on her. All out of boxed presents now, she looked at Harry. He stood up and started leading everyone to that drawing room. He whispered a thank you to his dad upon seeing the bow stuck to the door. He turned the doorknob and pushed the door open with a, "Ta-da!"

Narcissa walked through the door and couldn't quite believe her eyes, "How on earth did you manage it, Harry?"

"I believe we've discussed Harry's unique ability."

"I must confess, I didn't quite believe it until now."

Harry was explaining the backstory of his musical speciality while Draco stared at the portrait, particularly his own picture and name. With everyone paying attention to Harry, Severus joined him by the wall and said quietly, "I think Harry managed to convey how he sees you, how your family and friends see you. They don't see Malfoy, they see Draco and you don't have to be ashamed or guilty that those are so different."

"Thanks, Severus."

They migrated back to the living room, Ted having to drag his daughter with him. She was tickled pink (literally) over seeing herself on the new tapestry. And she kept asking if she could change the hair color of her portrait. Harry seemed nervous over that, not knowing if even so simple of an alteration would revert it back. She dropped the issue when he mentioned that and Blaise was next to open presents. Alanna didn't feel up to much celebrating so she had sent her son his gift, which turned out to be a puzzle box and a cryptex in Ancient Runes. Draco gave him a puzzle box as well, looking even more complicated, and hand carved. Narcissa gave him some homemade quills, one in particular standing out. According to Narcissa, it was a fwooper feather quill that would produce coded letters. Harry kept to the growing theme of live presents and had gotten him a bowtruckle. Snape's gift was last, which turned out to be a bottle of cologne. Andromeda and Ted were next, receiving presents from their sister, Severus, their nephew, and their daughter. Tonks received gifts from her parents, her aunt, and her cousin. Harry was last, choosing at random from the gifts. Minerva had sent him a book of transfiguration tips. Draco gave him a wood carving of an eagle and suddenly the tool he had gotten from Narcissa made more sense.

"It flies, you know." Draco added, grabbing it from him and tossing it into the air.

It soared around the room, diving at the tree and then was quickly put away when it swooped at Madrigal who hissed and swatted at it. Harry opened Narcissa's present next, a very high quality mandolin. He played a few scales in reverence before moving on. Blaise got him an instrument care kit. His dad's gift was a new set of sapphire gobstones.

"They aren't quite the solid gold set you were eyeing but hopefully they will do."

They certainly seemed to, Harry immediately challenging them all to a game later. Blaise wasn't the only one missing someone not up to come. With the full moon a few days ago, Remus was likely at home, ill, and had sent Harry a new rose quartz and azurite wizard's chess set. Draco called dibs on first match and the blue pieces. With everyone present having opened their gifts, all the adults but Tonks Apparated around to drop off the gifts of those absent. Severus went to Hogwarts to deliver two to Minerva (Banchory Bangers earmuffs from Harry and homemade truffles from Severus), one to Hagrid (three living models of dragons, a Hebridean Black from Blaise, a Chinese Fireball from Draco, and a Welsh Green from Harry), and one to Poppy (the best of Severus' garden and dried herbs). Narcissa went to Ghlóir Maidin and Dragonspire. Alanna received a few jewelled brooches and hairpins from Narcissa, from Blaise, an everlasting Moonflower, and an occamy carved out of ebony from Draco that was able to grow and shrink like the actual creature. Narcissa stormed through the Spire, finding him in the gardens flirting with someone barely older than Tonks. She waved her wand and the girl retreated further into the hedges with a Heron Patronus pecking after her. Her momentum carried her straight to Lucius, nearly knocking him over as she pressed her wand against his throat.

"Narcissa, really, don't -."

"Give me a reason, you swine!" She hollered, her wand digging in hard enough to make him gag.

He said nothing, sweating with fear, and trying to cower while staying still. Her lips curled in disgust and she backed up, slightly lowering her wand. She set the carving (a peacock in white fir that spread its tail) on the bench.

"If you don't start treating Draco decently, you'll find I'll be here again, and next time I won't hesitate."

Ted was nice enough to go to Weavers Way and bombard Remus with Harry's gift of outrageous amounts of homemade pies, sweet and savoury, pre-prepped meals, and more Pumpkin Pasties, Pumpkin Fizz, and Sugar Quills than he could count. Ted also conveyed Narcissa's well wishes and open invitation, leaving after setting a bottle of Pepperup Potion and a dog-eared copy of Brewer's Monthly from Severus on the table.

After nursing the potion, Remus felt recovered enough to join them for Christmas dinner. Tonks was entertaining the boys by transforming her face. She gave herself a duck's beak and then a pig snout. Andromeda laughed and teased her that her face would stay that way when Tonks made herself look like Professor Binns. Narcissa was animatedly discussing a series of books with Ted, both of them apparently belonging to the same book club. Remus and Severus finished their quiet discussion about the article the Potions Master had brought to his attention. They pulled apart a cracker, both of them laughing as Madrigal zoomed after the mice and Capriccio belly flopped onto the pile leprechaun gold, before starting up a game of chess. All of them went to bed content that night, quite sure this holiday would stay in their memories forever. The rest of the holidays past with moments like those. The day after Boxing Day, Draco gave Severus a carving of the mountain troll that continuously re-enacted its demise from Halloween and Blaise gave him _Theoretical Potions from Legends and Myths_. Before they knew it, it was time to go back. Upon arriving, Draco and Harry handed out presents to their larger group of friends. Draco gave all of them moving carvings and Harry doled out vials of Hair Color Changing Potion he and Severus had made New Year's Eve. When Harry returned to his room, he found a package laying on his bed. He pulled the note off and read it before untying the string.

_Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well_

It turned out to be an invisibility cloak. He put it over his arm and suddenly his hand looked like it was floating in mid-air. Hearing Draco and Blaise come in, he stuffed the cloak into his empty guitar case. He didn't feel quite ready to share something that belonged to his dad.


	8. Devil's Snare

**I do not own any recognizable characters or the Harry Potter Series. I am not making any profit from this post. And I have no intention of ever publishing this fanfiction professionally. **

Term resumed with first and second years receiving new schedules and the third and fourth years gaining prolonged substitutes. Snape took over Defense for the first years, the O.W.L and N.E.W.T level Defense teacher, Gossander, took over for the second and fourth years. Both compiled a guideline curriculum for Sapworthy (the O.W.L and N.E.W.T Herbology Professor), who was taking over the third year classes as the only professor able to do so. With still no sign of Quirrell, on the grounds or anywhere, Draco and Blaise continued their stay in Severus' suite of rooms. Unicorns were now being found dead in the Forest and Severus was immensely relieved that the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team no longer needed Harry to step in. Cho seemed to have evened out over her latest growth spurt and managed to make it to and through the next match without any injuries. Harry, Blaise, and Draco were being escorted to the match after that, Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff, when lilting notes made their way from Hagrid's hut and Harry slapped a hand to his forehead.

"Of course! Why didn't I see it before?!" He said before racing off to Hagrid's, Draco and Blaise right behind him and Severus following, yelling at them to stop.

Hagrid stopped playing as soon as he saw Harry, "What are ya doin' alone? Where's yer escort?"

"Hagrid, who gave you the egg?" Harry asked, ignoring what Hagrid said and Snape scolding him.

"I dunno. He kept his hood up, didn' he?"

"But you and he must have talked?" Harry pressed further, Severus now just watching. He had known Harry long enough to recognize him figuring something out.

"Well, o' course we did! Why?"

"What did you talk about? How would he have known you could take care of dragon?"

"I told him abou' Aragog and then I mentioned Fluffy."

"That three-headed nightmare is named Fluffy?" Snape muttered.

Harry heard him and continued, having already known some kind of creature guarded the door of the corridor, "Did he seem interested in Fluffy?"

"O' course he seemed interested in Fluffy! How of'n d'ya come across a three-headed dog? Even if yer in the trade! I said after Fluffy, a dragon's gonna be no problem. I told him the trick t' any beast is t' know how to calm him. Take Fluffy for example, just play 'im a bit o' music and he falls straigh' to sleep."

"Oh, Hagrid." Severus sighed.

He continued them to the match, settling them right next to Sprout in the Hufflepuff box. He then went back to Hagrid's hut, collected him, and went to go talk to Dumbledore over this latest complication. The boys came back to what they were now thinking as their room to find Severus absolutely livid, and Minerva not all that much better, both clutching a glass of amber liquid far too tightly.

"Straight to your room, boys. I'll tell you when I'm in a much better mood. I want lights out at ten and try not to permanently damage anything."

Easter was a week away when Severus finally calmed down enough to tell them that despite the near-sure possibility of Quirrell knowing how to get past the dog , Dumbledore was insisting on keeping it as the primary defense. Despite the headmaster's assurances, the professors privy to the Stone were rotating between sentry duty and patrolling the border of the Forest alongside the remaining Aurors. Draco went home for Easter break and Harry finally got to meet Blaise's mum. She _was_ the sweetest person, as Draco had said, even with her sad eyes. The rest of term was spent with everyone focused on exams, many students sleeping in the library and teacher's assigning more homework than they had all year. The patrols of the third floor and the forest continued but also continued to reveal nothing. The day of the exams wound up being the warmest of the year and maybe eyes wandered to the windows. Their history exam was last and all the first years emerged feeling battered and bruised. They spent the afternoon thinking of everything but the exams in the courtyard. Still too wound up to be tired, the three boys were still up way later than they usually were allowed playing games of Exploding Snap, Gobstones, and chess. Severus was on patrol duty tonight in the Forest, so they weren't going to get caught for a while. Harry was in the middle of making a winning move in Gobstones when his scar started hurting worse than ever. Harry had his hands against it, yelling, when it suddenly stopped.

"He's going after it. Right now."

"We have to tell someone. Who's on sentry duty tonight?"

"There's not enough time! Dumbledore is in London, Dad is in the Forest, and he's in the castle!" Harry shouted, racing to his room and grabbing the cloak from his case.

He came back with it and his harp and threw the cloak over them without a word.

"When did you get an Invisibility Cloak?"

"I'll tell you later, now let's go!"

They went to the third floor corridor as fast as they could without causing too much noise. When they got to the door, they found Flitwick slumped against the wall.

"He's been Stunned. What do we do now?"

"He'll be fine. But that means the Stone won't be. We have to stop him."

"This is the Lord Voldemort we're talking about here. Shouldn't we at least go get your dad?"

"By the time we find him and come back, he might have already gotten the Stone and used it to come back."

Draco and Blaise looked at each other, then at the door, and then back at Harry, both of them nodding. They opened the door and found Fluffy asleep already, the trapdoor open by its paw. A discarded flute was to the right, and the silence was causing the dog to twitch awake. Harry pulled the cloak off of them, setting it by the torch outside the door, and came back quickly to play. They looked into the open door and saw nothing but darkness. Blaise took a deep breath, nodded at both of them and jumped. Harry kept playing with one hand, waving to get Draco's attention and then pointing at himself. Draco looked at the harp nervously, and Harry waved his hand again, pointed two fingers to his eyes and then back at the harp. He quickly showed him where to hold it to strum the strings, keeping it simple by playing all of them. He walked towards him, still playing, and the brief pause in the music made two of the heads twitch, before Draco continued the flow of sound. Harry jumped and landed on something spongy. Draco quickly came next with a muffled yell, chased down by barking.

"You're hands must be elephant hide to be able to play that so much." Draco muttered, blowing on his very red fingers.

"I use picks most of the time and calluses, the musicians bread and butter."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. What did we land on?" Blaise asked, possibly too calm as he watched it continue to bind his legs and arms together.

Harry looked down to see it starting at his ankles and slither around Draco's chest.

"It's Devil Snare. Just stay still. Lumos!" Harry's wand lit at the tip and Harry held the radiating light against the plant until it retreated. Draco followed suit, his arms still free. Once both of them were free, they went over to Blaise and Harry had Draco work on his arms and chest while he focused on his legs, distinguishing his wand and casting blue flame instead, speeding along the process. They quickly retreated to the door, Harry looking back forlornly, none of them carrying the harp, "Dad's going to kill me."

They continued onto a room of colorful birds which they passed over, and went to the next door. It wouldn't open, even when they used the Unlocking Spell. They turned back around and looked around, Harry looked closer at the birds and said, "They're not birds. They're keys. Look, there's some brooms."

They all mounted one and flew up, Draco and Blaise hovered close to Harry, waiting for him to spot the right one. Harry tapped them both on the arm and pointed at one with crumpled feathers. He told Draco to circle left and Blaise to circle right. They positioned themselves so and nodded to Harry who shot forward. The key dropped, Harry diving in pursuit, and then zoomed right at Draco, who caught it. They dismounted and Draco shoved the struggling key into the lock. The space past the door was completely dark, torches only sparking to life when the door shut and they had stepped quite a ways into the room. Blaise groaned when he recognized it, "I'm rubbish at chess."

Draco and Harry smirked at each other before looking at the board in greater detail. They nodded and approached the black king piece.

"Do the three of us have to take the place of a piece?"

The king nodded and Harry chewed on his lip. He let Draco pick his own spot as a knight, choosing to replace a rook himself .

"Blaise, take the place of the king."

The king gave the crown to Blaise, who slipped it over his head and wore it as a necklace. Harry and Draco took turns making moves, both in tune with each other's play style to only lose two pieces to the white's five. Harry was stumped, not seeing a viable move. Draco did however and called out, "You know the move, Harry."

"I don't see one that won't put us in danger."

"It's more dangerous for Voldemort to get that Stone. Once I make my move, the queen will take me. Then you're free to take to the king."

"That thing can kill you, mate." Blaise hollered, pacing in his square, conflicted over staying to not jeopardise the game or leaving to knock sense into his oldest friend. Harry looked straight at Draco for a few moments and then nodded. Draco started walking, taking shaking breaths, stopping in the right square, and set his shoulders. The White Queen walked towards him and tapped him on the forehead with surprising gentleness. Being stone, it still knocked him out. Harry ran as much as possible while still following the rules of the board. Only one foot on the right square when he yelled checkmate. The king threw his crown on the board and Harry immediately spun around and dropped in front of Draco. Blaise quickly joined him, pulling out his wand and taking a breath.

"I've seen Terry use this spell on somebody asleep before. Hopefully it works. Rennervate!"

Draco stirred with a groan, his eyes opening groggily. They waited until he sat up.

"Blaise and I are going to keep going. You wait here, alright?"

Draco was silent for a moment before nodding, which elicited another groan. The other two wavered but Draco waved them on, scraping the stone crown towards him and grinning.


	9. Two Faces

**I do not own any recognizable characters or the Harry Potter Series. I am not making any profit from this post. And I have no intention of ever publishing this fanfiction professionally. **

Blaise and Harry went through the next door to an empty room. Wondering what the catch was, they cautiously took one step forward. They were right to, because the now empty room was completely filled with water. They turned to each other, and shrugged, swimming toward the door. The water became murkier as they advanced until it was impossible to see forward. They stuck course when lights starting appearing in their hindsight. Twice, Harry had to stop Blaise from following them. When they reached the door a musical voice sang, "What do you hold most dear? Lies are the only thing we fear. Reveal what is in your heart so that you may depart."

They both were running out of breath. They kept thinking of things but nothing opened the door. They couldn't maintain treading anymore and started sinking, the edges of their vision going black. Seconds before starting to drown, Harry thought of his mother, from a memory Severus had shared with him. It was her, looking over her shoulder, laughing. Blaise too, had a last thought. It was his mother and father, together again, old and grey and happy. Those final thoughts seemed to be the key and the door dissolved and both of them were dumped out into the next room with the water that immediately evaporated. They stayed on their knees for a while, the coughs that kept bringing up water racking their whole body. Their lungs finally calmed down and they stood up to see the next obstacle. They approached the table and flames erupted on each end of the room, barring both exits. The one behind was purple and the one forward was black. Seven bottles were on the table, a piece of parchment in front of them. They both hunched over it and Blaise got through the second line before grinning, "It's a puzzle. It's not a fancy piece of magic. Not something to test you. A riddle. You're dad is a genius."

"How do you know this one is my dad's?"

"Call it a feeling. Now, just let me think."

Blaise kept consulting the parchment, murmuring some of the lines aloud, tapping some of the bottles, leaning some of them back. He kept this up for what felt like fifteen minutes. Harry was halfway through Beethoven's sixth symphony in his head when Blaise said, "I've got it. This is the bottle to go back. This is the one to go forward."

"Looks like there's only one dose left to go back."

"Maybe it refills when empty?"

"I don't think so. You go back, make sure Draco is still ok, get my dad, Minerva, anybody."

"But… Are you sure, mate? Whoever's through that door…"

"I'm sure. I'm not afraid of him. If anything should convince you, it's that who knows what kind of trouble Draco is getting himself into back there."

Blaise chuckled and opened the bottle, hesitating again when he put it against his lips, "You're a great wizard, Harry. Nah, mate, really. You're going to get through this and you're going to go on to do great things."

"You're great, too, Blaise. And I'll bet you do things people never dreamed of being possible."

They shook hands, took the corresponding bottles and took a swig. Blaise put his hand in the flame and shivered.

"Does it hurt?"

"It's just really cold. See you on the other side."

Harry saw him vanish and then wasted no time walking through the black flame. Blaise was right, it felt like being frozen from the inside out. Harry descended a flight of stairs into a large empty chamber, save for a mirror in the exact middle, Quirrell standing in front of it. Harry's scar began hurting as he looked at him. Quirrell was talking to himself and Harry wasn't sure if he knew he wasn't alone anymore or not.

"I see myself holding the stone. But how do I get it? What does this mirror do?"

"_Use the boy." _Another voice echoed, Harry not seeing where it came from.

"Come here, Potter! NOW!" Harry did as he said, stopping in front of the mirror, "Tell me, what do you see?"

Instead of a reflection, he saw himself in the mirror pull some kind of jewel out of the pocket of his trousers and then put it back in with a wink. As the reflection did so, Harry felt something heavy clunk into his pocket.

"Well?! What do you see?!"

"I-I see myself holding a trophy. Dumbledore's giving it to me and shaking my hand, I-I've won the House Cup for Ravenclaw."

Quirrell sneered and turned back to the mirror. Again the high, echoing voice from nowhere, "_He lies." _

"Tell the truth! What did you see?!"

"_Let me speak to him."_

"Master, you are not strong enough."

"_I have strength enough for this." _

Quirrel continued to face the mirror and began unraveling his turban. As he did, the pain in Harry's scar grew more intense, becoming almost unbearable when it was removed completely. Instead of the back of Quirrell's head there was another face. This one was unnaturally pale and lacking a nose in favor of two slits for nostrils. It was the slanted red eyes that really drew focus, the slit pupils adjusting to the light.

"_Hello, Harry._" A vaguely familiar high voice came from the second face, now not muffled by cloth.

"Voldemort?"

"Yes. You see what I must do to survive. See what I've become. A mere parasite. The blood of the unicorns has sustained me but it cannot give me a body of my own. But you know there is something that can. Something that conveniently enough, lies in your pocket."

Harry ran for it, heading for the stairs, "STOP HIM!" He was tackled from behind before being rolled off of. Quirrell was whimpering, holding out his hands painfully to reveal them covered in burns and blisters. Harry continued up, not taking the time to stand.

"FOOL! SEIZE HIM!"

Quirrel lunged forward, clamping his hands onto Harry's arms and dragging him down so they were level. At his touch, Harry's head felt like it was going to split open. He reached out blindly towards the professor, just trying to make the pain go away. His hands connected with what Harry assumed was his face, his vision spotting out at the pain. He wasn't the only one shouting in pain now, so was Quirrell, who stubbornly refused to let Harry go. The pain from the scar became too much and Harry passed out.


	10. A Philosopher's Stone

**I do not own any recognizable characters or the Harry Potter Series. I am not making any profit from this post. And I have no intention of ever publishing this fanfiction professionally. **

He woke up in a panic only to find himself in the hospital wing, Snape fast asleep in a chair to his right and a very awake Dumbledore on the chair to his left. At the foot of his bed was boxes upon boxes of candies and cards. Dumbledore tracked his gaze and chuckled.

"Tokens from your friends and admirers."

"Admirers?"

"What happened down in the dungeons and between you and Quirrell is a complete secret. So, naturally, the whole school knows."

"How long have I been in here?"

"Three days. Mr. Draco Malfoy and Mr. Zabini will be quite relieved you have come round. They've been extremely worried."

"Draco is okay, then?"

"Healed almost the moment he came here."

"The Stone!" Harry gasped.

"Yes. The Philosopher's Stone. Quirrell did not manage to take it from you. I arrived just in time to prevent that, although you were doing very well on your own, I must say."

"You got there?"

"I arrived at the Ministry and it became immediately clear that I was actually needed here. I arrived just in time to pull him off of you. For a moment, I feared I might have been too late."

"You nearly were. I don't think I could have kept him away from the Stone much longer."

"Not the Stone, boy, you. The effort to keep him away nearly killed you. I was afraid it had when I first look down at you. As for the fate of the Stone, it has been destroyed."

"Destroyed? But… It belonged to Nicholas Flamel, didn't it?"

"Oh, you know about Nicholas?" said Dumbledore, sounding far too delighted in Harry's opinion.

"There's not many Philosopher's Stones, sir. It wasn't all that hard to find him, or his connection with you."

"I see the Sorting Hat was not mistaken placing you in Ravenclaw. I'm assuming the initial knowledge of the Stone came from someone currently snoring? No matter. Nicholas and I had a little chat, and agreed it's all for the best."

"Given the age of the Flamels, won't they die without the Stone?"

"They have enough Elixir stored to set their affairs in order and then, yes, they will die." Dumbledore smiled at the look of shock on Harry's face.

"To one as young as you, I'm sure it seems grave, but to Nicholas and Perenelle, it really is like going to bed after a very, _very_, long day. After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. You know, the Stone was really not such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all - the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them."

Harry took those words in, quietly thinking. Dumbledore started humming and looking at the ceiling, "Sir? Even without the Stone, Voldemort still has other ways of coming back, doesn't he? He's not gone for good."

"No, Harry. He is not. Perhaps looking for another body to share at this very moment. He is not truly alive but he cannot be killed either. In the dungeons, he left Quirrell to die. He shows just as little mercy to his followers as his enemies. You may have delayed his return to power now, but it will merely take someone else who is prepared to fight what seems a losing battle the next time. But if he is delayed again, and again, he may never return to power."

"If you can tell me, sir, I'd like to know the truth about something."

"The truth. It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution. However, tell me what you wish to know, and unless I have a very good reason not to, in which case I beg you'll forgive me, I will tell you."

"I know that Voldemort wanted to kill my parents. But why did he want to kill me, too?

Dumbledore sighed very deeply.

"Alas, Harry, the thing you wish to know is the very thing I cannot tell you. Not today. Not now. You will know, one day. When you are older…. I know you hate to keep hearing this, but when you are ready, you will know."

Harry wanted to argue but he the tone indicated the subject l closed for now, "Why couldn't Quirrell touch me?"

"Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realize that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves it's own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign. To have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, it gives us some protection forever. It is in your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed, and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good."

Harry smiled a little wetly, recalling that the memory of her smiling and laughing could have been the last thing he would have seen. Harry had one last question, more of a suspicion, really.

"Was it you that left the cloak in my room, sir?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, "Yes, it was. Your father left it in my possession and I thought you might like it. Useful things, Invisibility Cloaks. Your father used it mainly for sneaking off to the kitchens to steal food when he was here."

"There is one last thing, sir."

"Fire away."

"I don't know if you know about my Christmas gift to Mrs. Black ..."

"Ah, yes, the portrait. I must say, I think you are one of the first witches or wizards to possess that unique ability in this century. The last one known, if I am correct, was Wolfgang Mozart."

"If the ones remaining on the Black Family tree are the ones with better morals, why have Sirius and his brother stayed?"

"Ah. You ask me something I don't know the answer to myself. I cannot claim expertise over your unique talent, and I daresay there aren't any who can. As for the demise of both Sirius and Regulus, who can say? If your workings achieved what you believe they have, there might be more to their story. Perhaps time will reveal it to be so." Dumbledore stood during this, sidling along and standing at the end of the bed.

"Sorry, sir, one last thing."

"Just the one?" Dumbledore teased.

"How is it I did get the Stone sir? Quirrell must have been standing in front of the mirror for quite some time."

"I was hoping you would ask me that. It was one of my more brilliant ideas, and between you and me, that's saying something. You see, only one who wanted to _find_ the Stone - find it, but not use it - would be able to get it. My brain surprised even me sometimes. Now I believe that is enough questions for now. I leave you to enjoy your sweets. Ah! Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans! I was unfortunate enough in my youth to come across a vomit-flavored one, and since then I'm afraid I've rather lost my liking for them. But I think I'll be safe with a nice toffee, don't you?"

He popped the golden-brown bean into his mouth and gagged, "Alas! Earwax!" Harry watched him go, not really sure if he liked him or not. But such was his peculiarity.

Snape continued to keep a watchful eye on him in the hospital wing. Having delivered his long-winded lecture upon waking up and seeing Harry sitting up, Severus didn't have the heart to ground him over his rashness. Such was the good standing between them, Harry was able to convince Severus to leave at night to sleep in a real bed rather than a chair that could permanently damage someone's back. He was also able to convince Madam Pomfrey to not only let Draco and Blaise visit but to release him in time for the end-of-term feast. The Great Hall was awash in red and gold, Gryffindor having taken the lead after winning the Quidditch Cup. The meal went by quickly, Draco and Blaise making plans with Harry for the summer. The last course of the final meal cleared away and Dumbledore stood.

"Another year gone! What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were… you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts. Now, as I understand it, the house cup here needs rewarding and the points stand thus. In fourth place, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and twenty-six points. In third place, Ravenclaw with three hundred and eighty-two points. Slytherin has four hundred and forty-two and Gryffindor, four hundred and seventy-two points."

The Gryffindor table burst out in cheers, the three boys watching Ron and his friends gloating at Hermione, all but Ron holding up four fingers as well.

"Yes, yes, well done Gryffindor," Dumbledore said, "However, recent events must be taken into account."

The Hall went very quiet. The Gryffindor's smirks fading slightly.

"Ahem. I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes. First to Mr. Blaise Zabini, for the cool use of logic in the face of fire, I award Slytherin House fifty points. Second to Mr. Harry Potter, for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Ravenclaw House fifty points. And finally, there are all kinds of courage. It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies but a great deal more to go against your family. I therefore award sixty points to Mr. Draco Malfoy."

Cheering erupted from both the Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables, for they were now tied first. Draco was looking up at Dumbledore in shock, not registering the numerous hugs and pats he was receiving from all those around him.

"Which means," Dumbledore called over the celebrating, "we need a little change of decoration."

He clapped his hands and the scarlet hangings became blue and gold became silver. The Gryffindor Lion vanished and a towering occamy took its place, merging both House's symbols into one creature. Minerva didn't seem deterred in the slightest, raising her glad to both Severus and Flitwick. Harry teased her later than she didn't mind because Gryffindor won the Inter-House Quidditch Cup. Now that the danger to the two Ravenclaws and Slytherin were past, Harry got his room back. Not that it mattered much, as they bunked out in the study with sleeping bags, wileing the days away with visiting Hagrid, playing short skirmishes of Quidditch, and filling in their friends on the first hand account of what happened in the dungeons. They had figured out who set which obstacle, which Severus confirmed when they told him. The Devil's Snare was obviously Sprout. The key birds they thought might have been Narcissa but ultimately decided on Flitwick. Narcissa was mentioned for the chess board as well but Harry insisted on McGonagall. According to him, you've not played a real match of Wizard's Chess until you've played against Minerva. That left the water room and the riddle. Draco kept insisting that the riddle was his mum's until Severus let them have a small glass of nettle wine to celebrate their grades, and that settled it. The three of them had kind of forgotten about the exams after everything. To their relief, they all passed with flying colors. To Hermione's slight irritation, the only subjects she was first in were Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Astronomy, and History of Magic. Harry got the top spot in Charms, Draco in Transfiguration, and Neville was first in Herbology.

Harry opted to take the train home, wanting to gain a few extra moments with his friends before parting for ten weeks. Remus was there to take him to Ymborth. The three boys seperated with promises of seeing each other later and Harry couldn't wipe the grin off his face the entire journey home.


End file.
